Chapter Seven: Betrayal?
Author's Notes: I have replaced this chapter due to a mess-up in the description of one of my characters... I apologize to everyone! I fixed it now, but there's a minor detail that I wanted to keep as it was... anyhoo, on with the story!
At last the day has come. With the help of Dr. Light's ingenious designs and upgrades, Zero and I were finally ready to storm Wily's massive fortress. My X-buster had been adjusted so that I could draw more power even more quickly than before, and my armor had been plated with a new form of titanium that will reduce damage by fifty percent. Zero's had the same armor plating installed, and his saber's had some extra juice added into it to give it extra power.
Over the past two weeks he and I have endlessly trained for this day, not caring if we'd win or not. After I had the little 'pep talk' with him a while ago Zero seemed to shape up quite a bit, becoming increasingly vicious in his fights and spars with me. He'd been winning more and more, which didn't bother me except for the fact that I usually found myself on the wrong end of brutal slashes and slices. Dr. Light's had to spend half the time repairing me, and it's a miracle he still completed our upgrades.
I tried to talk to Zero again once or twice in between training sessions, but he never seemed aware of me anymore. His mind seemed to drift away to some other place, and he rarely spoke to me at all. I hoped that once Sierra was back he would revert to his normal self, but I wasn't sure. The guilt of letting her be abducted really fried his circuits good, and I doubted it would ever leave him alone.
It was time to depart, and there he was all suited up in his crimson armor and green saber already in his hand. He nodded to me grimly, and I walked over to the small air-assault craft that was built for two. I took the pilot's seat and revved the thing up, Zero hopping in behind me as gunner.
I waited as Dr. Light punched the controls to open a part of the lab's ceiling just big enough for the craft to fit through. I gave him a grin and thumbs-up while he waved in response, then took off into the sky.
"Good luck!" I could make out from the Doc over the roar of the craft's engine.
***
It was finally here. I now understand the human term 'butterflies in the stomach', for that is what I felt as Rock sent the flying craft into the sky. I heard the chirps and beeps from his seat as the tracking and locator devices were activated, leading us to Wily's fortress.
All of my sparring, practicing and grueling training would pay off now as we raced to save Sierra from the hells that Wily would place her through. I swore again as I had done the instant she was taken from me that if Wily had harmed so much as an eyelash on her, I would make sure he would live forever in agony.
"Zero." Rock's alto voice cut into my dark thoughts. "We're approaching the fortress, and it looks like its auto-defense mechanisms are online."
"No problem," I answered sharply, hearing the satisfying hum of the weapons as I switched them on. I tapped a button on my helmet to activate a guidance system inter-linked with the weapons, my gloved hand on the firing panel.
"Enemy 'bots dead ahead! They're firing!" Rock shouted at me.
I was ready. "Not anymore! Fry in hell, battery-brains!!!!" I fired six consecutive shots with lightning speed, my precision perfect as the approaching 'bots exploded in electric clouds of blue, red and green.
"Nice job, Zero! Here come more!"
I grinned to myself, then fired again at the swarming enemies. Thanks to Rock's expert piloting we didn't have much trouble flying past the defenses and into an open hangar. We landed smoothly, and as he opened the canopy I was the first to jump out to greet the welcoming committee.
"Welcome back, brothers," said an all-too-familiar voice... Protoman.
"You..." I growled at him in a voice dripping of venom. He crossed his arms a bit nervously, but gave a grin to cover it up.
"Now, now," he taunted. "That's no way to talk to your big brother, Red."
"Huh?" Rock asked from behind me. "What the heck do you mean by that, bud? What's he talking about, Zero?"
"What I MEAN, Blue Dweeb..." he sneered, "...is that both of you were made from the same plans as I was, but I was activated years before you were. I'll even let you in on a little secret... Dr. Light created me, too... Not Wily."
Needless to say, I was dumbfounded. This 'bot was created by Dr. Light?
Rock voiced my inquiry. "You? You're one of Light's robots? Then why aren't you one of us? If you knew, why didn't you come back?"
"Good question," our adversary shot back. "With a perfect answer. I'm programmed to be one of the 'bad guys.' So basically, I'm here to kill ya. Nothing personal, just a part of the job. You understand... right boys?"
At his cue a handful of other robots emerged from the shadows behind him. I recognized Gutsman... didn't I kill him?... an orange robot with scissors-like blades on his head, which I saw Rock narrow his eyes at for some reason. Another seemed reptilian and had a snake's head helmet, a fourth one was yellow and burly and was holding an armful of bombs. The last one seemed to hang back in the darkness... it seemed as if he didn't want to make his presence known yet.
The 'bots clustered around Protoman as they all glared menacingly at us. Rock and I stood our ground, unafraid of the battles ahead. I could see that some of them were really itching to fight, and who was I to deny them their deactivation? With a grin I stepped forward, and then everything was in slow motion.
***
Brother, huh? Not much of one... considering that he was on Wily's side now. I didn't quite know what to make of it, but when I saw Zero step forward and Protoman throw an arm to point at us as a signal of attack... it all didn't matter. Brother or no brother, this guy was an enemy, and was standing between Sierra and us.
In a nutshell, hell broke loose. I stood back to back with Zero, me shooting supercharged X-Buster bolts and he slashing with his upgraded saber. Bombs exploded, armor dented, cracked and fried, and soon there were flying scissors and little green mechanical snakes that ate away at roof beams when deflected, like acid.
I faced the one called Cutman first, remembering him from the night Sierra was kidnapped.
"Looks like you were rebuilt, man!" I sneered at him.
"Yeah, and it looks like I'm winning this time, Mega Jerk!" he shot back, throwing his spinning blades at me. I noticed that for a moment he was defenseless while controlling his weapon, so I ducked under once he took another shot at me, then pounced.
I think I knocked him out pretty good, 'cuz he didn't get up after he hit the floor. Taking the opportunity without hesitation I reached with my cannon hand to touch Cutman's arm. I felt a small corona of energy surround me as I absorbed his power, and soon my armor turned bright orange to match Cutman's. The data for Slice Boomerang became integrated into my circuitry, and the instant it was complete I let loose about a dozen of the things at one of the 'bots.
One of them... the yellow one with bombs... was hit in the side by one of the projectiles, and once he saw his fallen comrade, came rushing at me with an explosive in each hand.
"Now, now," I called out to my approaching opponent. "You should never play with those things! You'll get hurt!" I waggled a finger in mockery, then dodged both bombs as they were hurled in my general direction. The yellow robot was still being moved forward by his momentum, so I then used its momentary lack of control to stick a leg out as he passed and absorbed his bombing power once he was out of commission on the hangar floor.
"Told ya, bud," I said to the fallen robot, shaking my head.
"Hey, ROCK!" Zero called out from the other side of the hangar. "Gimme a hand here!" I turned around in search of the source of his voice and finally found him staring into a darker part of the area. Around him were the other two lesser goon robots, and directly in front of him was Protoman, along with the mystery 'bot right behind him.
My mechanical blood nearly froze just looking at the new guy. His armor was of purest black, eyes a matching shade with red stripes running from them to halfway down his cheek like tears of blood. His helmet was simple, also black but with a sapphire, star-shaped power crystal and two long fins of orange and black armor spraying from each side. (AN: O my gosh... I am so sorry for messing it up before! And to Pojo 911... thanx for telling me the description was wrong! However I am changing his weapon in this story... it'll just make things easier.)
But it wasn't his appearance that frightened me. It was the look of his cannon/saber, remarkably similar to Zero's except... much more advanced it seemed. His armor, though plain and unadorned, was comprised of a stronger material then my own or Zero's, and when I scanned it I couldn't figure out really what the metal was...
Protoman's voice cut into the heavy silence, breaking the trance. "Yes, meet the newest member of our family... say hello to your brothers, Bass."
"Hello." A chilling, unemotional voice masked by an evil leer, deep as his name. I shuddered, but then I registered what Protoman had just said.
"Wait a minute, Protoman! Why do you call him a brother as well? Doctor Light didn't make him!"
"You're right, Mega Man," Bass answered. "Your Doctor Light did not create me, nor did Doctor Wily."
"Then who..."
"I did."
I could have died then. There, stepping from the shadows followed closely by Doctor Wily, was Sierra.
AN: YIKES! Has Sierra really started working for Wily? What is Bass capable of? Can Zero and Mega Man defeat him?!?! Review, and I'll be sure to get the next chapter out much more quickly!
Author's Notes: I have replaced this chapter due to a mess-up in the description of one of my characters... I apologize to everyone! I fixed it now, but there's a minor detail that I wanted to keep as it was... anyhoo, on with the story!
At last the day has come. With the help of Dr. Light's ingenious designs and upgrades, Zero and I were finally ready to storm Wily's massive fortress. My X-buster had been adjusted so that I could draw more power even more quickly than before, and my armor had been plated with a new form of titanium that will reduce damage by fifty percent. Zero's had the same armor plating installed, and his saber's had some extra juice added into it to give it extra power.
Over the past two weeks he and I have endlessly trained for this day, not caring if we'd win or not. After I had the little 'pep talk' with him a while ago Zero seemed to shape up quite a bit, becoming increasingly vicious in his fights and spars with me. He'd been winning more and more, which didn't bother me except for the fact that I usually found myself on the wrong end of brutal slashes and slices. Dr. Light's had to spend half the time repairing me, and it's a miracle he still completed our upgrades.
I tried to talk to Zero again once or twice in between training sessions, but he never seemed aware of me anymore. His mind seemed to drift away to some other place, and he rarely spoke to me at all. I hoped that once Sierra was back he would revert to his normal self, but I wasn't sure. The guilt of letting her be abducted really fried his circuits good, and I doubted it would ever leave him alone.
It was time to depart, and there he was all suited up in his crimson armor and green saber already in his hand. He nodded to me grimly, and I walked over to the small air-assault craft that was built for two. I took the pilot's seat and revved the thing up, Zero hopping in behind me as gunner.
I waited as Dr. Light punched the controls to open a part of the lab's ceiling just big enough for the craft to fit through. I gave him a grin and thumbs-up while he waved in response, then took off into the sky.
"Good luck!" I could make out from the Doc over the roar of the craft's engine.
***
It was finally here. I now understand the human term 'butterflies in the stomach', for that is what I felt as Rock sent the flying craft into the sky. I heard the chirps and beeps from his seat as the tracking and locator devices were activated, leading us to Wily's fortress.
All of my sparring, practicing and grueling training would pay off now as we raced to save Sierra from the hells that Wily would place her through. I swore again as I had done the instant she was taken from me that if Wily had harmed so much as an eyelash on her, I would make sure he would live forever in agony.
"Zero." Rock's alto voice cut into my dark thoughts. "We're approaching the fortress, and it looks like its auto-defense mechanisms are online."
"No problem," I answered sharply, hearing the satisfying hum of the weapons as I switched them on. I tapped a button on my helmet to activate a guidance system inter-linked with the weapons, my gloved hand on the firing panel.
"Enemy 'bots dead ahead! They're firing!" Rock shouted at me.
I was ready. "Not anymore! Fry in hell, battery-brains!!!!" I fired six consecutive shots with lightning speed, my precision perfect as the approaching 'bots exploded in electric clouds of blue, red and green.
"Nice job, Zero! Here come more!"
I grinned to myself, then fired again at the swarming enemies. Thanks to Rock's expert piloting we didn't have much trouble flying past the defenses and into an open hangar. We landed smoothly, and as he opened the canopy I was the first to jump out to greet the welcoming committee.
"Welcome back, brothers," said an all-too-familiar voice... Protoman.
"You..." I growled at him in a voice dripping of venom. He crossed his arms a bit nervously, but gave a grin to cover it up.
"Now, now," he taunted. "That's no way to talk to your big brother, Red."
"Huh?" Rock asked from behind me. "What the heck do you mean by that, bud? What's he talking about, Zero?"
"What I MEAN, Blue Dweeb..." he sneered, "...is that both of you were made from the same plans as I was, but I was activated years before you were. I'll even let you in on a little secret... Dr. Light created me, too... Not Wily."
Needless to say, I was dumbfounded. This 'bot was created by Dr. Light?
Rock voiced my inquiry. "You? You're one of Light's robots? Then why aren't you one of us? If you knew, why didn't you come back?"
"Good question," our adversary shot back. "With a perfect answer. I'm programmed to be one of the 'bad guys.' So basically, I'm here to kill ya. Nothing personal, just a part of the job. You understand... right boys?"
At his cue a handful of other robots emerged from the shadows behind him. I recognized Gutsman... didn't I kill him?... an orange robot with scissors-like blades on his head, which I saw Rock narrow his eyes at for some reason. Another seemed reptilian and had a snake's head helmet, a fourth one was yellow and burly and was holding an armful of bombs. The last one seemed to hang back in the darkness... it seemed as if he didn't want to make his presence known yet.
The 'bots clustered around Protoman as they all glared menacingly at us. Rock and I stood our ground, unafraid of the battles ahead. I could see that some of them were really itching to fight, and who was I to deny them their deactivation? With a grin I stepped forward, and then everything was in slow motion.
***
Brother, huh? Not much of one... considering that he was on Wily's side now. I didn't quite know what to make of it, but when I saw Zero step forward and Protoman throw an arm to point at us as a signal of attack... it all didn't matter. Brother or no brother, this guy was an enemy, and was standing between Sierra and us.
In a nutshell, hell broke loose. I stood back to back with Zero, me shooting supercharged X-Buster bolts and he slashing with his upgraded saber. Bombs exploded, armor dented, cracked and fried, and soon there were flying scissors and little green mechanical snakes that ate away at roof beams when deflected, like acid.
I faced the one called Cutman first, remembering him from the night Sierra was kidnapped.
"Looks like you were rebuilt, man!" I sneered at him.
"Yeah, and it looks like I'm winning this time, Mega Jerk!" he shot back, throwing his spinning blades at me. I noticed that for a moment he was defenseless while controlling his weapon, so I ducked under once he took another shot at me, then pounced.
I think I knocked him out pretty good, 'cuz he didn't get up after he hit the floor. Taking the opportunity without hesitation I reached with my cannon hand to touch Cutman's arm. I felt a small corona of energy surround me as I absorbed his power, and soon my armor turned bright orange to match Cutman's. The data for Slice Boomerang became integrated into my circuitry, and the instant it was complete I let loose about a dozen of the things at one of the 'bots.
One of them... the yellow one with bombs... was hit in the side by one of the projectiles, and once he saw his fallen comrade, came rushing at me with an explosive in each hand.
"Now, now," I called out to my approaching opponent. "You should never play with those things! You'll get hurt!" I waggled a finger in mockery, then dodged both bombs as they were hurled in my general direction. The yellow robot was still being moved forward by his momentum, so I then used its momentary lack of control to stick a leg out as he passed and absorbed his bombing power once he was out of commission on the hangar floor.
"Told ya, bud," I said to the fallen robot, shaking my head.
"Hey, ROCK!" Zero called out from the other side of the hangar. "Gimme a hand here!" I turned around in search of the source of his voice and finally found him staring into a darker part of the area. Around him were the other two lesser goon robots, and directly in front of him was Protoman, along with the mystery 'bot right behind him.
My mechanical blood nearly froze just looking at the new guy. His armor was of purest black, eyes a matching shade with red stripes running from them to halfway down his cheek like tears of blood. His helmet was simple, also black but with a sapphire, star-shaped power crystal and two long fins of orange and black armor spraying from each side. (AN: O my gosh... I am so sorry for messing it up before! And to Pojo 911... thanx for telling me the description was wrong! However I am changing his weapon in this story... it'll just make things easier.)
But it wasn't his appearance that frightened me. It was the look of his cannon/saber, remarkably similar to Zero's except... much more advanced it seemed. His armor, though plain and unadorned, was comprised of a stronger material then my own or Zero's, and when I scanned it I couldn't figure out really what the metal was...
Protoman's voice cut into the heavy silence, breaking the trance. "Yes, meet the newest member of our family... say hello to your brothers, Bass."
"Hello." A chilling, unemotional voice masked by an evil leer, deep as his name. I shuddered, but then I registered what Protoman had just said.
"Wait a minute, Protoman! Why do you call him a brother as well? Doctor Light didn't make him!"
"You're right, Mega Man," Bass answered. "Your Doctor Light did not create me, nor did Doctor Wily."
"Then who..."
"I did."
I could have died then. There, stepping from the shadows followed closely by Doctor Wily, was Sierra.
AN: YIKES! Has Sierra really started working for Wily? What is Bass capable of? Can Zero and Mega Man defeat him?!?! Review, and I'll be sure to get the next chapter out much more quickly!